Innovative functional plastic films as cover of stone wool grow blocks and their effect on tomato hydroponic cultivation

Pesticides protect crops from pest infestations and yield reduction. Although, pesticides pose potential risks to food safety, the environment, and all living things since they can emigrate from treated fields to air, other land, and water bodies.

On 12 May 2021, the European Commission adopted the EU Action Plan: "Towards a Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil" a key deliverable of the European Green Deal, targeting to minimize the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50% by 2030.

Under this frame, the presented study proposed the use of alkaloid compounds (tomatidine and tomatine) derived from tomato cultivation waste (leaves, stems etc) as natural pesticides. The alkaloids in Solanaceae family plants protect the plant from insect attack and offer fungal and nematode resistance.

In this study, the tomato waste derived alkaloids were encapsulated in LDPE films through extrusion process, in order to develop polymeric films with pesticide action as covers of stone wool grow blocks used in hydroponic tomato cultivation.

The innovative films were used in hydroponic cultivation of Brioso tomatoes. Reduced attraction of mealybugs and the presence of its larvae in the leaves in relation to the control culture as well as improved productivity were observed. Specifically, the tested plants were more productive than those of the control but also the total marketable production of the tested plants was higher than those of the control.

This study served as a model for the practical application of the circular economy and zero pollution crop protection.